A telephone order taking service is a great way to look and sound professional, ensure all your calls are taken proficiently, and stay ahead of the competition. However, before you make a decision, there are some things to consider when choosing the right virtual order taking service for you.

Monthly charges

An important aspect for any business to consider is cost. Many answering services charge calls at a per minute rate so you could find yourself paying unexpected high monthly charges. At CSnotepad, you are charged per call and you choose when your calls are diverted, so you will never go over budget.

Service hours

A lot of service providers can offer a 24/7 order taking service, while others only operate during core business hours. One or the other might not suit you, so CSnotepad offers a choice of any days and any hours cover you want; whatever solution fits your needs.

Professionalism

When you put your calls in charge of a remote order taking service, you will want assurances that all of your calls will be answered professionally and efficiently. CSnotepad staff are fully briefed on your company and will answer your calls using your company’s name, with a greeting chosen by you. Each CSnotepad account has dedicated and experienced receptionists that are ready to answer your calls at a moment’s notice, so you’ll never miss a sale.

Trial period

It makes sense that you may not wish to commit to a virtual order taking service until you know for certain that the system works and are 100 per cent happy with the way your calls are being answered, which is why it’s important to find out if you can have a trial period. At CSnotepad, you can set up your telephone order taking service for a short term of just 2 months just to cover when you need it, or to test our services on a trial basis.

Contact us

For more information on our virtual order taking service, contact us on 01273 741400 to find out what we could do for you.

While larger organisations can afford to direct substantial investment into global call centres and staff who are dedicated to order fulfilment, smaller businesses can often struggle to do the same. Unfortunately, lack of available capital can make it very difficult for the typical small or medium sized business to grow and prosper.

If you are looking for a revolutionary yet simple way to increase revenue and productivity whilst cutting back on costs, a remote order taking service could be the answer.

A flexible and professional approach to order taking

With a virtual order taking service, you gain all of the benefits of hiring in-house staff, but without the associated overheads. That means you can avoid paying for vacation time, sick leave and other staff benefits and choose the hours you want your virtual order taking team to work for you. This type of system is the most flexible way to take orders, boost profits and give your customers outstanding service at the same time.

Some of the many benefits of a remote order taking service include:

Zero missed time or missed calls – Your virtual order taking team will be ready for business at the times you specify and will have an expert knowledge of your business and the products and services you sell. Fielding every call, they will handle the order taking process seamlessly and in a professional and friendly manner. This leaves you free to worry less about missed calls and profits and to concentrate on improving core areas of your business.

Be available 24/7 – Be the shop that never closes and get the edge over your competitors. Unlike other members of staff who go home at the end of their shift or day, you can hire virtual order taking staff to work 24 hours a day and also at weekends and over holidays.

Enhanced customer satisfaction and reputation – By investing in a virtual order taking service, you show your customers that you are serious about their call and that you have employed staff who care very much about customer satisfaction. Nobody needs to know that your team is working remotely except for you.

If you want to run your business in a totally seamless, modern and professional manner and to save time and overheads, a remote order fulfilment service could be just the solution you are looking for.

Running a business can be expensive, which is why an increasing number of companies and start-ups are opting for virtual services. This can include a virtual message taking service, a virtual order taking service, or both. These days, there are many reasons for companies to keep their costs down and use all the resources available to them in order to stay on their toes and ‘work smarter’.

Have your calls answered professionally

Most businesses will have a website where potential customers can find out about their products or services, and even make orders, but many people still prefer the ability to call up and talk to a real person who can answer their questions and set their mind at ease about their order or purchase.

There are many other benefits to having a virtual order taking service, such as having your sales calls answered by friendly human in a professional and timely manner, without you having to go through a lengthy hiring or training process with physical time in the office.

The illusion of size

Another great benefit of having a telephone order taking service is the illusion that your business is bigger than it is, giving you an edge over your competition and presenting your customers with an image they can trust. After all, who wants to be put on hold for 20 minutes while customer service and sales representatives scramble to answer all your calls, or even worse, juggle calls with physical customers?

Save money

Employing full or part-time staff to take care of sales can be costly. A virtual telephone ordering service will help you cut back on costs, as you won’t have to worry about hiring and training employees to answer the phones, and will provide you with an affordable and professional service immediately.

‘Work smarter’

With the low-cost telephone ordering side of your business taken care of, you and your team will be able to use your time and resources towards developing the business, while optimising profits and your time.

Use our Brighton & Hove, Sussex, UK address as your personal address and take advantage of mail forwarding or mail collection.
Many people utilise virtual street addresses to solve a variety of problems:

• Sole traders or partnerships are able to obtain a city centre address for a fraction of the cost of renting office space.
• Home workers may prefer not to use their home address for customer correspondence.
• People living abroad or elsewhere in the UK can either obtain a national or Sussex presence.

How does a virtual street addresses work?

A virtual street address is different to a real home address, in the sense that you don’t actually rent residential space with us.

You pay a small annual charge to make use of our address on your letterhead, correspondence, etc…

When your letters or packages are delivered we can hold them for collection, scan and email them to you or deliver them to a different address daily via first class post.

Virtual address prices:

Our virtual address plans start from just £210 a year to use our business address as your own. Our Standard service, which includes 5 letters forwarded free per month is £245. If you think you may have a lot more than this, give us a call and we’ll be pleased to provide a bespoke quote.

Mail collection & forwarding:

If you are local to the area, you may collect your post from us free of charge. Your annual subscription will be just £210.
If you are not local, we offer mail forwarding. On the Standard tariff your first 5 letters are included free of charge, you just pay for the cost of postage. Beyond your first 5, additional letters are 75p per letter plus postage.

We are able to sign for parcels on your behalf. If you require mail forwarding of parcels via recorded delivery or courier we charge £1.50 per item plus the cost of the postage or courier.

We can forward your mail internationally if required. Please note this is a ‘letter only’ business address service, we cannot ship goods or packages overseas. An additional £30 postage deposit is required for this service.

Mail scanned & emailed:

If you would like to have your mail opened, scanned and emailed to you rather than posted to you then you can use our scan to email service. The cost of this service is £210 per annum and includes having 20 letters per month scanned and emailed to you. After emailing you your post we will destroy it, or we can either hold it for you to collect at a later date or we can forward it to you by first class post (mail forwarding charges will apply).

On our scan to email service, you may still receive parcels which we are able to sign for on your behalf. For each parcel we receive for you on our scan to email service there is a handling charge of £1.50. You may then either collect your parcels or they can be forwarded on to you by courier.

Most businesses now have an online ordering system in place, which allows customers to make convenient orders 24/7 and browse all products and services any time of the day or night. It may seem flawless, but consumer research has pointed out that many consumers will not commit to buy a product without first gaining confidence from speaking to a real person. The simple reason for this is that customers will often have questions, and they like to have those questions answered.

Of course, you may have set up a simple to read list of FAQs somewhere on your site, however, this isn’t always enough. A recent survey consisting of over 2,000 consumers found that 57 per cent were most confident in a company that were easily contactable by phone.

Don’t have enough staff? Worried your phone lines will ring out? We have the perfect solution. With a telephone order taking service, you won’t have to worry about a lengthy hiring process, or training up staff for answer the phone. An experienced professional will be ready to take your customers calls at a moment’s notice, and will have enough knowledge of your company to be able to answer relevant questions regarding your orders. Any more complicated queries can be forwarded onto your sales team in a timely fashion, making sure your customers have a good experience with your company.

A virtual order taking service can also keep your team happy. Having a reliable support network on-hand to take your customers’ orders also allows you and your team to focus on the other aspects of the business, such as marketing, development and growth.

Conclusion

Even with the convenience of modern technology and web-based shopping portals, sometimes consumers still prefer to be able to talk to a real person. Many will find it a quicker, easier option than going through the rigmarole of filling out online forms and payment options.

For more information on how a virtual order taking service could benefit you, contact CSnotepad today – you can even give us a call. We’ll be happy to help.